New Holden Commodore VF

Holden chairman and managing director Mike Deveruex says it will "change people's minds" about large cars, which have seen sales nosediving for more than a decade.

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"What is different about today's car is the sophistication, the technology and refinement that makes this a no excuses, no asterisk/star/exclamation point - you can fill in the word - world-class vehicle. This is a world-class vehicle," says Devereux.

"What we have been able to do with this VF is tailor it to be a class above anything we've ever done. It's an embodiment of what you can do in this country if you put your mind to it.

"This is going to change what people think of the large car in this country."

The new VF Commodore will also be exported to the United States in low volumes later this year where it will be sold as the Chevrolet SS performance car and also form the basis of that brand's Nascar race program.

"We have proven with this car that you can export things from this country," says Deveruex, referring to the previously announced plans to sell between 3000 and 5000 in America. "Yeah it's difficult but if you make world-class stuff ... you can sell it in San Francisco, Sydney, Boston to Brisbane and it is world class, you cannot do that if it's not world class."

It’s the latest step in the Commodore’s transition to a global car.

Devereux also used the VF Commodore media reveal event to confirm Holden has begun work on a next generation Commodore - to be produced locally but as a global car rather than one designed and engineered almost solely with Australians in mind.

As well as crash avoidance technology largely reserved for luxury models, when the new Commodores goes on sale in May all models will be fitted with a self-parking system and reversing camera, aimed at increasing the large sedan's appeal against SUVs that are increasingly filling Australian driveways.

While the V6 and V8 engines aren't expected to change much in terms of power output - and there's no four-cylinder engine or diesel engine despite a trend towards those fuel saving technologies - a new lighter body that uses an aluminium bonnet and boot has reduced weight by at least 50kg.

Combined with improvements to the aerodynamics of about 10 per cent, the VF Commodore is expected to lower its claimed average fuel consumption figure by about 10 per cent; the official figure will be close to 8.0 litres per 100km, making it more efficient than some mid-sized cars and some of the SUVs that have been a significant factor in Commodore's decade-long sales slump; from a high of almost 100,000 sales in 1998 it slumped to only 30,000 last year, despite growth in the overall market.

Deveruex won't be drawn on sales of the latest iteration of a car that topped the sales charts for 15 consecutive years, except to suggest it would never return to its peaks.

"The days where one car sold by anybody accounts for one-tenth of the sales in a country, it doesn't happen anywhere on the planet," he says. "That's got nothing to do with Commodore, that's human tastes, it's fragmentation of the market."

As for pricing, that's also a state secret for now, although rises could be on the way.

"I think people will be pleasantly surprised at the value equation given all of the technology, the cut-above textiles in the car, this does feel like a world-class car and we're going to price it accordingly," says Devereux.

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311 comments so far

The car appears to be significant improvemnt, however, if the price rises I doubt many will be able to afford it. Especially in light of the same car selling in the USA as I can assure you no American buyer will tolerate the prices we have been conditioned to. I suggest any serious buyer obtain a quote from a US dealer (purporting to be a us buyer) and take it into your holden dealer.

Commenter

Boo

Location

Sydney

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 11:05AM

I would hate to say it but this new VF will be the death of the Falcon. How is it that Holden can market a product yet Ford Australia wouldn't know where to start?

Commenter

FG Boy

Location

Broady

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 11:15AM

@FG Boy. It's not a case of Ford not being able to market a product, it's a case of why are Holden bothering. Each VF that comes off the line is losing money. The big car sector is gone and only for silly govt grants is Holden continuing with this line.

One only has to look at recent Fiesta and Focus TV commercials to see where Ford see the future ...and recent sales figures seem to be bearing this out.

Commenter

cdinoz

Location

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 11:29AM

@cdinoz - this market isn't dead. I have 2 kids and don't want an SUV (like all the other sheeps - you don't need AWD in the city, they are costly to maintain and heavy on fuel). The VE V6 is economical to run and fits all our junk in the back. The only reason why people buy these small cars is because they either don't have a family (fine) or are too lazy to catch public transport.

Commenter

Jman

Location

Melb

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 11:40AM

@ cdinoz - you have no idea what you are talking about. Commodore is Holden's cash-cow. I read somewhere that they need to sell 8 Cruzes to make as much profit as they make from every Commodore. That leaves them with plenty of wiggle-room when it comes to adding technology without significantly adding to cost. Apparently they hav emanaged to reduce the number of interior compnents by 30%, so they are saving money in some places, too.

No car maker in Australia receives government grants. All the money the government puts up is for co-investment. i.e. it attracts foreign investment in Australian industry and jobs. In Holden's case it has netted Australia around a billion dollars in foreign investment, which ensures that GM will work hard to make a go of it here. If they were just giving money away there would be absolutely no long-term security and I would agree with your sentiments but the way it is structured works incredibly well for the coountry.

The auromotive industry pays around $5billion a year in taxes alone and all it takes is about $200million a year to keep it rolling in. That is a 2500% - yes, that's two, five, zero, zero - return on investment, per annum, even before you take all the other economic benefits into account. How does your super compare to that? It would be absolutely criminal for the government not to do everything it can to keep a cash-cow like that delivering for Australia.

Commenter

MotorMouth

Location

Sydney

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 11:57AM

@cdinoz. Rubbish. Ford plan to run falcon for at least the next 3 years and their marketing is truly woeful. As for fiesta it is hardly selling either. Focus is third in its class despite John Farnham and self parking ads.

Couple the poor marketing with arrogant salesmen and a woeful service department and it becomes clear why ford are sliding off the charts.

Commenter

Neal

Location

Cairns

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 12:01PM

Commodore is in the large car segment they say but as far as i can see they are no larger than Honda Accord ,Mazda 6 etc.which are all getting larger.As for putting a 4 cylinder in them,forget it.Sales would be low as folks wouldnt go for a 4 cylinder as it was a 6 cylinder car originally and reckon it would be gutless,yet they still buy a 4 cylinder car in a vehicle nearly as big.Some probably have memories of the 4 cylinder Commodores and Magnas.

Commenter

BRG

Location

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 12:05PM

much ado about nothing. no changes to the engines or significant weight saving means this is just a VE update. If buyers weren't considering the VE what improvements does this make for them to put this back on their shopping list?

Commenter

mr e

Location

sydney

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 12:06PM

Don't be silly, you dont have US wages, US market or US taxes and hence you are not going to get US prices.

Commenter

Regh

Location

Date and time

February 10, 2013, 12:27PM

@BOO...are you for real ? Different population Base, lower Wages, Different Taxes Tariffs etc....Think before you type..GEEZ....